Tuesday, November 2, 2010

Eldritch: Layline 024

See, here’s the thing about being a werewolf:you have all of these strange, fantastical problems, like turning into a wolf-creature once a month.But then you also still have all of your human problems, like paying taxes, figuring out the opposite gender, and studying for exams.

Or, in Faith’s case, struggling with finding her place in the art world. Unfortunately, not everyone out there is nice.

Thankfully, I have the good fortune to know many who are.So, in spite of the occasional unsavory individual, I keep up with the art and I do my best with what interests me.For instance, monsters, particularly werewolves.But I do struggle with many things… like the difference between creativity and Originality, which are different things.You see, I often find myself having to remind myself of something Julie Taymore said:

"'Originality' is a very dumb concept; it's very late 20th century. It's how an artist assembles his or her influences into a whole piece that really matters."

Which… is true.No one can be the capital O sort of Original.Everyone is influenced by things they come into contact with.That’s part of why I write such lengthy artist’s comments sometimes… they’re sort of like credits.I like sharing my influences, pointing to the examples of similar things in science, folklore, media, or mythology.For instance, I mix my science and myth… but that’s nothing new.Peter Dickenson’s <I>The Flight of Dragons</I> did a fantastic job of that, and it was written well before I was even born. I just try to do it in my own way.And in addition, anyone who’s read <I>The Hero with a Thousand Faces</I> can find evidence of the “Monomyth” in Eldritch already.It’s a formula that everyone is familiar with, and many stories follow a similar pattern.

However, while I know that it is impossible to be Original… I do my best to be creative.I try to bring together bits and pieces of my interests in a way that I hope will be different than people have seen before.Only time will tell how well I do at the end of it all.After all, Eldritch will have an end, but that’s a very long time away.Like, at this rate... years.

And speaking of years… I’d like to thank all of you folks who’ve stuck with me, and been so supportive.Sometimes, people get me really, really down, but when someone goes out of their way to do something kind for me, it just… there’s no words.At the risk of sounding cliché… it’s a magical sort of feeling.

So… thank you guys.You know who you are, and you have no idea how much your kind actions and words have done for little ol me.